Finding Courage
by beautifulpleasedonthurry
Summary: Blaine moves schools looking for a fresh start, but struggles to come out to his fellow students at WMHS- where not everyone is accepted and the outsiders are bullied- because of his fears, the result of  his troubled past. Can he find the courage?
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hi there! (: **

**This is my first fic ever, and it's a klaine fic! **

**Now, I know what you're thinking, ANOTHER Klaine fic. But trust me, this is not your average Kurt-meets-Blaine-they-fall-in-love-and-live-happily-ever-after story. So, give me a chance. (: **

**This chapter is just a introductory part, with lots of background information, but I promise the next chapter will contain more plot and elude to the upcoming issues of this story.**

**But I'd like to see what the reaction is to this story (if there even is one?) before I publish a second chapter, (which is yet to be written anyway.) **

**But for now, enjoy! (:**

**Liv. **

**(Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my imagination.)**

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><p>Wes brought his gavel down with a loud <em>thwack <em>in an attempt to silence the room of murmuring Dalton Academy Warblers. Blaine thought to himself that by now, after a whole year of attending Dalton, and being in the Warblers with Wes using is beloved gavel so frequently and unnecessarily that he would eventually become accustomed to the shock that the loud noise subjected him to, but every time the council member banged his gavel down onto the hard wood, causing such a sharp noise, Blaine couldn't help but jump a little. He had come to realize that it was partially his fault, as he often found himself zoning out during Warbler meetings. Lately he had begun to find them boring and tedious, and it was just too easy to daydream. He usually paid attention, but as the end of the school year drew closer, there were less and less items to rehearse, or events to organize. Yet the council still insisted on having their weekly Warbler meetings, which were becoming more and more ridiculous, as people were practically making issues and subjects up to talk about. Blaine, being one of the leaders of the Warblers, was one of those people. He was always looking for ways to liven up meetings, which was difficult due to the strictness of the council.

Blaine raised his gaze to where his good friend and council member, Wes, was seated. Wes looked down on him with the severity and seriousness of a court judge, as though he had just been charged with murder.

"Junior Warbler member Blaine Anderson has proposed that the Dalton Academy Warblers perform a selection of festive Christmas themed songs at the Westerville shopping centre this weekend." Wes announced the blatantly obvious. Blaine nodded in confirmation, and was tempted to roll his eyes. The way everyone at his school was so formal and so… perfect was unnerving to him. He felt like he wasn't in the company of twenty-or-so teenage boys, but in a room full of serious, mature adults. He knew these boys outside of the Warblers too—he had classes with some of them, or sat with them at lunchtimes on occasion, and no of them acted this seriously then, which was what confused him most. He couldn't comprehend why everyone took a show choir so seriously, Blaine thought that singing in a group was supposed to be about having fun and enjoying himself with other people who had a passion for what he did—music. Yet every time a Warblers meeting was on, it was all business.

"The council will discuss your proposal now, Mr. Anderson, your input is appreciated." James, another council member, said as he and the two boys sitting next to him stood to leave the room.

As soon as the doors closed, the room was filled with the boys chatter. No one really cared whether or not they performed at the mall, (although everyone had agreed that it was a great idea), as they were too excited to finish school for the year. Boys were animatedly discussing their plans for the holidays and for Christmas, or what they were looking forward to for next year, or about what college they were planning on attending, or about their final year of high school. Personally, Blaine was dreading coming back to Dalton next year. To all of Blaine's friends and family, Blaine was a free spirit, someone who loved excitement and hated blandness and formalities. Blaine knew it would sound slightly absurd to most people if he told them that the thing he hated most about Dalton was how _perfect_ it was. Nothing out of the ordinary or exciting ever happened, which was what Blaine missed about his old school, and what was a main characteristic of most public schools. With just a couple of weeks left at Dalton, Blaine couldn't wait to be free again.

After a few minutes, the three Warblers who made up the council returned. Blaine knew what their answer would be even before they opened their mouths to speak, but it was worth a try.

"Blaine," Wes began to address the room of expectant boys as he stood, "We have considered your idea, and although it is definitely a good one-"

"Yeah," someone from up the back chimed in, "That place definitely needs some livening up, I can't believe they don't play music in there, it must be the only shop in the mall in the world that doesn't have background music! Like what the-"

"Thankyou, Michael." Wes interrupted the sophomore member in a stern tone over the murmurs of agreement coming from the rest of the boys. "Anyway," he continued, "After much deliberation, we have rejected your proposal, Blaine. The Warblers have enough on their plate, with the performance at the nursing home next week."Somebody groaned quietly as Wes finished before sitting stiffly back in his chair and clasping his hands on the table in front of him. Blaine pretended to look disappointed as he wondered how Wes seemed to have two different personalities. There was Mr Serious-Dalton-Academy-Warbler-Council-Member Wes, and then there was just Blaine's friend, this really cool guy who came up with hilarious one liners and loved singing to himself while strolling through the halls on his way to class. Blaine just shrugged, as a sign of acceptance before taking a seat on one of the brown leather couches next to his friend David. David glanced at him, with a look that Blaine thought might have been slightly sympathetic. This wasn't the first time one of Blaine's ideas had been rejected. The bell rang to signal the end of the period, and Wes brought his gavel down with another sharp _thwack_. Blaine flinched.

"Meeting dismissed." He declared, before exiting the room as the rest of the group was doing.

"Thankyou, Captain Obvious." David muttered under his breath, and Blaine smiled. At least he knew one other person shared his feelings about Wes, and Warbler meetings… to a point. David and Blaine made their way to their lockers to gather their books for their next classes.

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><p>"So," David said to Blaine excitedly, "Pumped for the holidays? Hell, I know I am! Can't wait! Christmas this year is gonna be awesome! I love holidays! Mind you, every year they seem to go quicker and quicker for me… is it like that for you? I plan to make the most of it anyway! Because before you know it, we'll be back here again!" He finished with a tone of displeasure. " I don't know about you, but I'm most certainly not looking forward to<em> that<em>_!" _David babbled on and on. Blaine wondered how he did it sometimes. Sure, Blaine could be a chatterbox when he wanted to be, but it seemed as though David just _never stopped_! Blaine even envied him a little; he seemed to have endless amounts of energy, reminding him of the nature of a seven-year-old girl. He should mention that to David sometime…

"Blaine! Are you even listening to me, I've been talking for like, five minutes, and you haven't said a thing!" David was standing in front of Blaine expectantly.

"Huh—What? Oh um, sorry David, you were saying?" Blaine blinked and muttered hazily in reply.

"Dude, you have been so… _out of it_ lately! Are you getting enough sleep? Because you know, Mom always says it's important that guys our age sleep a lot. I was just saying how I'm dreading coming back here next year! Aren't you?" David impatiently explained.

"Oh um, sorry I'm just tired…" Blaine replied, receiving a sceptical look from David. "And I've been meaning to talk to you about that. Next year, I mean. Here, at Dalton…" Blaine felt like he had to tell David, after all, he was his best friend so he was entitled to know what Blaine was planning.

Blaine was so caught up in his thoughts, wondering what would be the easiest way of explaining his intentions, that he didn't realize David was still waiting for his answer until the impatient boy was waving his hands in frantic gestures in front of his face.

"Blaine, come on! Look, we've gotta go to class, but we'll talk about this later, okay? I've known you long enough to be able to tell when something is bothering you, and judging by the way you've been acting lately, there's obviously something on your mind." David placed his hands on his friend's shoulders in a comforting manner.

"Oh okay, thanks David, yeah, that'd be great." Blaine muttered. He couldn't help that his mind was elsewhere, it seemed to be wandering off of it's own accord as of late. He collected his books and waved David goodbye as he trudged off to his next class.

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><p>By lunch, when he had organized to meet up with David, Blaine was even more tired than before, after all his final tests, exams and assessments for the year. But he at least he had now thought about what he wanted to say to David. He didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, he really loved that guy, as a best friend. Sometimes he felt like David was the only person in the whole school who really <em>got<em> him.

When he entered the cafeteria, David was waiting for him at their usual table along with a couple of Blaine's other friends. They appeared to be animatedly discussing what exotic destinations they were travelling to over the break. Blaine knew for a fact that he wouldn't be going anywhere exciting this Christmas, much to his dismay. As soon as Blaine sat down, David immediately diverted his attention.

"So, what's up?" David immediately began, looking concerned.

"Before, when you asked me about Dalton next year… I don't think I'm going to be coming back." Blaine replied in a hushed, almost sheepish voice.

"What?" David exclaimed, a little too loudly, drawing the attention of a few more boys at their table.

"Hey, hear me out." Blaine responded calmly. "When I first moved here, from my old school, I loved it. But, now, I've started to miss…" All of what Blaine had planned to say just went out the window. It was so hard to explain, without sounding like a petty, selfish, kid. "I feel like—Like, I'm searching for something. It's not here. Oh God, I must sound like an idiot, but I don't want to come back here next year because everything is just so, perfect! It bores me, it really does. I want something exciting in my life, coming here everyday just drains me. Maybe, some people like how everyone is so neat and tidy here, so formal, so immaculate. But I just can't stand it. I just want a fresh start, David. I want my senior year to be the best it can. This must all sound so corny, but I want my senior year to be _magical_. David, I'm thinking about transferring schools next year. I miss the craziness of my old public school, I don't miss the bullying, of course, but I miss how much fun I had everyday there with all my friends, and how crazy we could be, without anyone caring…" Blaine trailed off and dropped his head into his hands. Maybe he was going crazy. He shyly glanced up to view David's expression. He was relieved to see that he didn't look mad.

"You know," David began in a casual tone, "I saw this coming. You always look so angry in Warbler meetings, and you never smile for no reason anymore, like you used to. I think a change would be healthy for you. I totally get how you feel, half the people here can't take a joke, and this environment doesn't suit you. You're such a cool, happy-go-lucky, funny, relaxed guy and…" He caught himself, laughing at how corny he was getting. Blaine smiled at him. "If you move schools, sure, I'll miss you, but if it makes you happy…" He shrugged. Blaine hugged him with one arm, and smiled.

"Thanks David, you're the best!" He grinned.

"So, where are you thinking of transferring to?" David asked, trying to sound nonchalant. He really didn't want his best friend to leave him, but he knew that Blaine would be better off moving and finding the fresh start he craved.

"Actually, I have no idea." Blaine said thoughtfully. He didn't know of any other schools in the area that were half decent.

"But hasn't your Mom-" David began to ask but only to be interrupted by Blaine.

"I'm yet to broach the subject with Mom." He replied to David's unfinished question.

Blaine planned to tell her when he got home that afternoon, and he knew she would understand. Blaine's mother, Cerina, was one of the kindest people he knew. Her personality was so similar to Blaine's and she was very caring towards her only son. After all, Blaine was her only real company now that she was alone. Blaine's biological father had an affair with another woman when he was three years old, leaving his mother heart broken. He had hardly bothered to contact his son after he abandoned his family for a new life, though Blaine did receive the awkward obligatory birthday and Christmas phone calls. However, Cerina was a strong woman, and determined to move on, so two years later, when Blaine was five, she re-married to another man, David, who had two sons of his own. With David, Cerina had a daughter, Delilah. Blaine grew up with David as his father, who was a kind man, but he worked ridiculous hours, as he was CEO of a major company. He was always busy with some kind of work, so he never really had time for Blaine. He did favour his two biological sons though, who were older than Blaine by three years. They were twins, but not identical, whose names were Benjamin and Robert. Benjamin became friends with Blaine, as they got along well, but the same could not be said about Robert, who was awful to Blaine for no reason. Late one Friday night, when Blaine was nine, David was speeding down what he thought was a deserted road, trying to get home in time for the twins' birthday dinner. He collided with another car, and was killed. Cerina was, once again, heart broken. With David gone, a grieving Robert began to bully Blaine more, blaming his father's death on Blaine. Cerina, who was too depressed and stressed about raising four needy children, didn't have the time or strength worry about the possibility of a negative relationship between two of her sons. She didn't even notice before it was too late…

"Well, good luck with that." David replied, forcing Blaine's state of mind to snap back to reality.

"She's pretty good about this kind of stuff, she'll understand." Blaine said almost to himself. David wasn't the only one who needed assurance of his mother's reaction to Blaine's… proposal.

Nowadays, many years after David's death, Cerina was a fairly calm, co-operative woman. Blaine suspected it was because she suppressed her emotions, which he knew wasn't good for her mental health. Blaine hated causing her stress, and he was reluctant to bring up the smallest of issues. She loved her son very much, as they had been through many highs and lows together. Cerina meant a lot to Blaine, as Blaine meant a lot to Cerina. They had a strong mother/son bond.

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><p>The rest of the day passed very quickly for Blaine, and before he knew it, the weekend had arrived. It was a three-day weekend, so Blaine planned to pack up some of his necessities from his dorm room that he shared with David and travel to Lima to visit his family—or what was left of it; his mother and his half-sister.<p>

Blaine was a boarder and Dalton, his mother had sent him to the finest school she could find in Ohio that wasn't too far away. He didn't get to see his family much, but when he did, he always had a great time with them. They all got along really well, unlike some families, where the siblings constantly squabbled and the busy parents cracked under the strain of stress. He was excited to see them again, and he sang along with his Katy Perry CD the whole two-hour car trip, repeating the tracks when the album had finished. He almost surprised himself with his cheerfulness, he had been so downtrodden lately that he had forgotten what it felt like to be in a positive mood.

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><p>When he pulled up in the driveway of his home and turned off the ignition, Blaine nearly tripped as he leapt out of the driver's seat, ran round to the back to snatch his suitcase from the boot of the car, and swiftly dropped his suitcase onto his toe.<p>

"Shit!" He swore loudly without thinking.

He was rubbing his foot vigorously and hopping around, looking quite peculiar, when his mother's wary face peaked from inside the house.

"Blaine?" She called.

At the sound of Cerina's voice, Blaine immediately jumped up from where he was crouched behind the car nursing his injured foot.

"Mom!" He cried with delight, limping over as quickly as he could to her, and promptly tripping over a crack in the cement.

"Oh, Blaine!" His mother sighed almost patronisingly as she helped him up. Blaine looked up at his mother with his big light brown eyes fondly. It had been too long since he'd last seen his mother. He stood up next to her and grabbed the handle of his suitcase, simultaneously clicking the lock button on his car keys, before pulling his mother into a tight hug, breathing in her scent, which he missed so much. She smelt of faintly floral perfume, and he detected a hint of what seemed to be… cookies. He smiled into his mothers shoulder, before realizing how hungry he was. He remembered how he'd hardly eaten any lunch as his stomach rumbled.

As his mother pulled out of the hug Blaine saw the disapproving look on her face. His mother was very particular about food, and she often told Blaine how she missed cooking for him every night. Cerina was an utterly fantastic cook.

Blaine smiled in apology goofily.

"Haven't they been feeding you properly at that school of yours?" She laughed, a beautiful open mouthed laugh.

Blaine shrugged exaggeratedly.

"Oh my Blaine, I've missed you." She smiled up at him. Despite Blaine's short height, Cerina was even smaller in size than Blaine.

Blaine sighed happily when his mother insisted on carrying his bag for him, and followed her to the steps leading up to the front door, where he prised it from her grip and easily lifted the heavy suitcase. As he wheeled it inside he was greeted with the familiar smells and sounds of home. Someone was tinkering on a piano in the background, the radio playing the jazz channel could be heard from the kitchen, along with the faint sound of something sizzling away on the stove, sending a warm, mouth-watering aroma into the hallway. At the sound of Cerina closing the door behind her, the piano abruptly stopped and frantic footsteps sounded until he was greeted with his eleven-year-old smiling sister, who was sprinting towards him.

"Blaaaine!" She cried and threw her thin arms around his neck.

Blaine lifted his sister off of the ground, holding her tightly and whirled her around in his arms.

"Hey Dee." He said softly, smiling. He didn't know why, but he almost felt like crying.

It was good to be home.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading! Please review, I don't mind criticism, as long as it's constructive, I really wanna know what people think!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi there. Well... here is chapter two, after an embarrassingly long wait. I was very busy as it was the end of the school year and I had loads of concerts/exams etc. so I put this off until I had nothing else to do. So here it is. Last AN I promised that this chapter would give away vital clues to the main complication of the story, but little did I know I was actually lying. So yeah, sorry about that, but I swear that NEXT chapter will. If it doesn't, you can get mad. Okay I'm rambling now- it's midnight and I am very tired so I'm just going to shut up. **

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Nothing is mine except the stuff that you don't recognize because I made that up. **

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><p>After enjoying a delicious dinner of roast chicken with vegetables and crispy potatoes and reading his sister a bedtime story (Blaine worried deep down about Delilah and her literacy skills; she wasn't the most confident reader and never wanted to read books like Blaine did when he was her age - all she wanted to do was play the piano - but then again, Blaine did love reading aloud to her) Blaine flopped onto the couch and flicked on the TV.<p>

As he was surfing through the channels, he remembered the conversation he was anxious to have with his mother. No longer was he nervous though - seeing Cerina's bright, happy face assured Blaine that she would be understanding of his predicament.

He stalled, staring out the window at the night sky. The stars were just coming out, and he wished upon the first one that he saw that everything would turn out okay. He knew it was silly, and he wasn't really superstitious, but it was something that he had done since he was a child. It was one of the few precious memories of his father that he held close to his heart - wishing on stars and never giving up hope. A lot had changed since then.

Blaine finally heaved himself off of the couch and wandered down the hallway to the back porch where he last saw his mother. When he eased open the fly-screen door slowly, so it wouldn't squeak too much and wake his sister, he saw her watering the pot plants. She looked up at him and gave him a small smile.

"Something wrong, hon?" she said softly, carefully placing one of the plants back on the window-sill.

Blaine smiled at her. He loved the way his mother did everything so slowly and carefully, like every move she made mattered, and that she had all the time in the world. He wished he could be like that more and more as he got older, so serene and placid.

Cerina interrupted his wandering thoughts.

"Was there something you wanted to talk to me about, Blaine?" she said, a little louder but not sounding irritated. Cerina never got angry, which Blaine found unsettling but nice at the same time.

"Yeah, there is, actually." Blaine replied. He figured there was no point in putting it off any longer. He hated procrastinating.

"Well, spit it out sweetie." Cerina smiled. He had her full attention, she had ceased her watering of the plants to listen to every word he had to say very carefully. That was another thing Blaine loved about Cerina: she was incredibly attentive. Other people were caught up in their own problems, or just didn't care, but Blaine's mother always had time to listen.

Blaine was desperately trying to figure out the best way to word what was on his mind as his mother stared at him with an expectant expression.

"I want to transfer!" Blaine blurted out. _Shit_, he thought. He had been planning to put it a little more eloquently than that.

Cerina raised her eyebrows, but didn't look too angry or shocked, much to Blaine's relief. She closed the space between them and looked up at her son with concerned eyes.

"May I ask why?" she said softly.

"Well…" Blaine squirmed a little as he twisted his fingers together like he always did when he was nervous.

"Blaine." Cerina smiled at his discomfort, which she found slightly adorable. "I'm not mad. You're a good kid. No, you're a great kid. The best son I could ask for. You've never been unreasonable, you've always done well in school and you've always been completely selfless. I know you have a good reason, and I want you to know I'm here to support you, no matter what, because I love you. You can tell me anything, Blaine." She looked deeply into his eyes. How could Blaine not open up to her, with that look on her face? He knew she would accept him, no matter how childish, or stupid, or completely unreasonable he believed his reason to be.

"I just… I just want a fresh start." Blaine sighed, suddenly feeling very tired. What time was it? The whizzing of bugs that kept bashing into the porch light had begun to irritate him a little, and he'd just had enough of explaining himself to people. He knew this was important though, so he carried on.

"Dalton is just starting to get to me, you know? The formality and… perfection isn't for me! For me, imperfection is beauty, you know?" Blaine rambled. When he was tired he said 'you know?' at the end of his sentences a lot. "At first I loved how everyone dressed the same and looked so neat and tidy, but now, I can't help but hate it! Everyone takes everything so seriously and I'm just sick of it, I just want to be able to express myself, and I feel like I can't live up to my full potential next year at Dalton. I need a change, something to mix things up and make my life exciting again," Blaine finished resignedly and, noticing Cerina's silence, looked down at his bare feet. Cerina tilted his chin up with her fingers.

"Hey," she said, almost inaudibly. "I understand, Blaine. Don't worry, I can see where you're coming from. David had been planning for you to go to that school ever since you started reading, and after he…" she gulped, "passed, I guess I just went along with it anyway, because it always seemed set in stone. I didn't even bother trying to find out what it was like, and I'm sorry for that, Blaine," she said sincerely. "And I have noticed that you've been a bit more… solemn than usual lately," she continued, elaborating upon seeing Blaine's slightly surprised expression. "On the phone you always seemed a bit down, or you sounded just drained or bored." She paused. "I think a transfer would be good for you, honey. If you're sure that it's the best thing for you right now, then I'm happy to organize it all. Sometimes a fresh start can be healthy." She smiled at Blaine, whose mouth was open slightly in surprise. He hadn't expected her reaction at all.

Blaine thought Cerina would be far more wary about the whole ordeal, and have had more questions: "Are you sure you're sure?" and so on. But no, she had accepted him and trusted his judgement.

Cerina giggled at him when a tiny bug nearly flew into Blaine's ajar mouth.

"Thanks, Mom… you're awesome," he said, crushing her into a bear hug. She hugged him back just as tight.

"I think it's best if we all get some sleep now, we'll talk more in the morning," she said, observing Blaine yawn. "I'm nearly done out here anyway. I'll see you in the morning, sweetie." She stood on her tippy-toes and craned her neck to kiss Blaine on the forehead. "You've grown," she laughed.

"I have?" Blaine said excitedly. He hadn't noticed; he was too busy fretting over how ridiculously short he was while all his friends continued to grow ridiculously tall.

"It appears so." Cerina smiled at her son. "Now off to bed, nighty night!" she said, shooing him inside.

"Night, Mom," Blaine whispered, and crept past his sister's door to his room.

Blaine quickly changed into his pajama shorts, taking his shirt off as it was a very humid night, and switched his fan on. He brushed his teeth and answered a text from David before climbing into bed. He sighed. He was relieved that his mother had agreed to let him transfer schools, but hoped that she didn't think about it too much before she slept and changed her mind. The more he thought about moving schools the more he felt that he needed it. It was about time that he did something completely and utterly for himself.

He slept soundly all night.

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><p>"BLAAAAAAAAINEY!"<p>

Blaine was abruptly woken by the shrill call of his sister from outside his door.

"Delilah!" His mother scorned his sister almost harshly. "Blaine is very tired, let him sleep," she said in a more gentle tone.

"But Mooom," his sister whined, "Blaine promised that he would take me to get a smoothie before breakfast!"

He heard his sister continue complaining from outside his door. He had promised her, and it was 10:30AM. Plus, he was hungry. Well, hungrier than usual. He eventually mustered the willpower to get up and face the music. Literally. His sister had already started to play piano. Sometimes she would sit in the dining room all day and make up songs. She really was quite good at piano; she'd been learning for nearly three years now, and her skills had surpassed Blaine's. She had a natural talent. Blaine stood in the doorway so he could listen to her play. When she finished Blaine applauded and she looked up delightedly to see her beloved brother.

"Bee!" she cried, and leapt into his arms for a good morning hug. When Blaine was away, Delilah missed him terribly. She hated being a temporary only child.

"Good morning, gorgeous," Blaine grinned. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes! Can we go get smoothies now? Can I get a banana one? Please!" she wailed.

Blaine should probably have found her whining annoying, but because he saw so little of his sister, he found it kind of cute.

"Yeah, of course! I made a promise, and you know I'll never break a promise I make to you," Blaine said with a hint of seriousness.

Delilah rolled her eyes at him dramatically and flounced off to the kitchen to announce their departure. Blaine followed her slowly and smiled. He loved having his real sibling around, and even though his friends at Dalton were practically brothers to him, it wasn't quite the same.

After Blaine had taken Delilah to buy a smoothie—they both had banana—and cooked pancakes, much to Cerina's delight (even though they had a long mock-argument about her assisting her son; he insisted that she let him do something for her for once!) he and Cerina sat down for another little chat after Delilah returned to the piano.

"So, did you have a particular school in mind that you wanted to go to?" Cerina said casually.

"I still can't believe you're actually fine with letting me do this. I thought it'd be a bigger deal to you!" Blaine said in disbelief.

"Well, as I said last night, hon, I understand where you're coming from. There's nothing really wrong with it, is there? It's not too much of a hassle, you've moved schools before—"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But aren't Moms supposed to stop their kids from making potentially bad choices?" Blaine asked.

"Do you think that it could be a bad decision?" his mother said seriously.

"Well I don't-" Blaine started, but was interrupted almost immediately.

"Do you, Blaine?"

"No." Blaine said simply. He had given it a lot of thought.

"Then neither do I." Cerina responded as if it was the most simple thing in the world.

"Now, your Aunt Cathy was telling me about one of her friends' sons. He went to a school, which she said was great, here in Lima. I can't quite remember what it was called though… Mc-something…" She trailed off, wracking her brain for memory of the name.

"McKinley?" Blaine suggested.

"Yes! That's it. McKinley. You know of it?"

"I think a couple of years ago the Warblers competed against them at sectionals." Blaine furrowed his brow, trying to remember what Wes had told him. "They were really good apparently. They beat us," he said.

"Oh, well, they must be good then!" Cerina beamed, pleased with her choice. "I'll ask Cath to ask her friend for more information about the school, but do you think you would like to go there? I know it's a public school so… it'll be a lot different to the high school you're used to. In a good way though, they're probably one of those schools who doesn't have a set uniform, and you talked about expressing yourself…" She trailed off questioningly.

"Yeah, it sounds great to me!" Blaine answered honestly. It really did sound like the kind of thing he had been searching for.

"Well, I'll send some emails and make some calls and find out the essentials and we'll see, okay?"

"Okay." Blaine smiled as he left the kitchen. It was good to have at least a little bit of a resolution to the problem, and he had a feeling that it was going to get better from there. He walked into the dining room, which was surprisingly silent, to find his sister curled up on the couch, staring at a piece of paper with a perplexed expression on her face. Delilah was so absorbed she didn't notice Blaine's presence in the room till he sat down on the cushion beside her.

"Hey Dee!" he said cheerily, putting an arm around her shoulders and leaning in. "Whatcha reading?" he asked, trying to see the words on the paper his sister was holding.

"Nothing!" she said quickly, attempting to fold the paper in half so her brother wouldn't be able to see. Delilah was embarrassed by her lack of reading skills. She wished she could read properly like the other kids in her classes at school, but she didn't interpret the phonetics the way most people did, and she never knew why. Blaine snatched the paper from Delilah's fingers before she could protest.

"I can help," he said. "What are you stuck on?"

He scanned the paper. When he realized it was the lyrics to one of his favourite Disney songs, he smiled. Delilah shyly pointed out the word she couldn't decipher.

"That says fulfilment." Blaine explained, "It kinda means like… satisfaction. If someone is fulfilled, they're happy, they're… complete." Blaine nodded with finality, pleased with his explanation. "Does that help?"

Delilah nodded.

"Why were you looking at these lyrics anyway? Can you play this on the piano?" Blaine queried. He had heard Delilah watching Pinnochio earlier that day.

"I've been practicing this song so I could play it for you, because I know that you like it," Delilah explained solemnly. "I was going to put on a great big show for you and sing too, but I don't understand this!" The little girl waved the paper around in frustration. "I just wanted to be like you, Blaine. You're so… good," she said quietly.

Blaine cursed himself for being away so much, he had no idea his sister was so insecure. All this time Blaine had perceived his half sister to be carefree and oblivious. But she was growing up, and with age, life becomes more complicated.

"Delilah." Blaine hardly ever addressed her with her actual name. "You are honestly a fantastic piano player. Way better than me! You're never going to be good!" Delilah's eyes widened in shock at Blaine's seemingly harsh words before her brother continued. "Because you've always been great!" He smiled. "I'll help you sing this song, but only if you promise to put on the show you were planning for me. Okay?"

Delilah still looked sheepish, but gave Blaine a small nod.

Blaine quickly grabbed his sister by the waist, slinging her over his shoulder in a fireman's hold. "Okay?" Blaine repeated himself, ignoring Delilah's squirms to try and escape his grip.

"Okay!" she squealed, but she was laughing by the time Blaine gently put her down on the piano stool. Blaine sat down next to her and nodded in encouragement for her to play. She played the introduction to the song like a professional pianist, and Blaine smiled proudly. When the cue came, Blaine sang softly.

_When a star is born_

_They possess a gift or two_

_One of them is they have this power_

_To make a wish come true _

Blaine sang to his sister enthusiastically, he really did love the song. As the lyrics Blaine was singing neared the chorus, he nudged his sister as a silent urge to get her to sing with him, and to his surprise, she shyly complied. He hardly ever heard his sister sing, only when she was singing to herself in the shower or in her room and he happened to hear. That was one of the big differences between the two siblings, Blaine almost never stopped singing. It drove his friends to the brink of insanity, he was always whistling or humming or making some form of music. He couldn't help it, it was part of who he was.

_When you wish upon a star_

_Makes no difference who you are_

_Anything your heart desires _

_Will come to you_

Blaine was almost surprised to find that when Delilah was trying to sing properly, she had quite a nice voice. By the end of the song, his sister was singing almost as loudly and as confidently as he was, and Blaine didn't notice that his mother had crept up to the door with her video camera. She smiled at the sight of her two children making music together.

_When you wish upon a star_

_Your dreams come true _

The song finished and Blaine and Delilah silently looked at each other fondly.

"See, I told you that you were great," Blaine said.

"As if Bla-"

Delilah stopped when she heard the quiet beeping of Cerina turning the camera off.

"Moooooom!" Delilah exclaimed as she whirled around, horrified, and quickly ran to try and take the camera off her mother to delete the "embarrassing" footage.

Blaine was actually glad their little impromptu performance was filmed - maybe he would be able to finally convince his sister of her obvious talent. He wandered to his bedroom laughing to himself at the sound of the mother-daughter playful banter.

He lay down on his bed, hands behind his head, and gazed up at the ceiling, tracing the cracks in the paint with his eyes. He loved analysing them, finding all the possible patterns and pictures he could make out of them. His mind wandered back to the conversations he'd had with his mother about his transfer, and last night. He then remembered how before he'd told his mother, he'd wished upon a star. The irony of it all made him smirk. But beyond the corniness of it all, there was a small part of Blaine hoping that this was a sign. That maybe, things would go smoothly and everything would turn out to be okay.

Then again, knowing his luck, probably not.

* * *

><p>Please review. Tell me if this was crap or not.<p> 


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